3-Substituted-3-aryloxypropanamines are known in the art to be useful as medicinal agents by virtue of their action of inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin or norepinephrine. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,314,081 and 4,956,388. The preferred characteristics of particular enantiomers over their racemates is also known--see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,956,388 and EPO Patent Application Publication 369,685.
This invention provides a method for converting an epoxide intermediate into a 3-substituted-3-hydroxypropanenitrile which can be used in the synthesis of the aforementioned pharmaceutical agents.